The series chronicles the evolution of Black beauty and its impact on the fashion industry, the civil rights movement, the “Black is Beautiful” era and the influence on American culture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fu2Prg0GTg
Supreme Models features trailblazers such as Iman and Bethann Hardison to superstar models Joan Smalls, IndyaMoore and Precious Lee with legends including Pat Cleveland, Roshumba Williams and Veronica Webb.
Anna Wintour, Chief Content Officer, Condé Nast and Global Editorial Director, Vogue, as well as Vogue European Editorial Director Edward Enniful, Vogue.com editor Chioma Nnadi and more also share personal stories of these boundary breaking women who set new standards in the worlds of beauty and fashion – from the 1960s to the unlimited potential of the digital age today.
Kelly Rowland’s new makeup line will cater to women with darker complexions. Makeup options can be scarce for those blessed with a bit more melanin than others. Luckily, Kelly Rowland has a solution for the dark brown beauties out there.
The Grammy award-winning artist announced to Essence on Monday that she’ll be launching a makeup line which specifically caters to women with darker complexions.
“My makeup artist Sheika Daley and I are actually starting a makeup line we’re making sure we make, well, we’re starting off with lashes and then we’re going to have it grow for all women,” Rowland told . “But definitely making sure we have our chocolate girls covered. Gotta get the chocolate girls in there! We have to have that, you know. I think Iman has done a beautiful makeup line and I want to do it too!”
Rowland’s line will join a growing number of products that ensure darker skin tones don’t get overlooked in the beauty world, including Cocoa Swatches, Queen by CoverGirl, among others. To read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kelly-rowlands-new-makeup-line-will-celebrate-chocolate-girls_us_56f3f9bbe4b02c402f6693b6?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&
David Bowie with Supermodel wife Iman (photo via popsugar.com)
As Stevie Wonder so aptly put it in his 1976 tribute to the 20th-century pioneers of sound, “Sir Duke”: “Music is a world within itself / With a language we all understand / With an equal opportunity / For all to sing, dance and clap their hands.” Sir David Robert Jones, aka “Ziggy Stardust”, aka “The Thin White Duke”, but most commonly known around the world as David Bowie, fully understood and embodied the language of this universality, and connected with audiences around the world, no matter what genre he chose to explore. Some of his greatest commercial success came from his exploration of R&B music (“Young Americans”, “Fame”, “Golden Years”, “Under Pressure,” “Let’s Dance”), but his musical life was one of constant change and innovation, which made this unique singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, arranger, painter and actor a prominent, global figure in popular music for over four decades.
According to the New York Times, Bowie’s last album, “Blackstar,” a collaboration with a jazz quartet that was typically enigmatic and exploratory, was released on Friday — his birthday. He had also collaborated on an Off Broadway musical, “Lazarus,” which was a surreal sequel to the 1976 film that featured his definitive screen role, “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”
Bowie wrote songs, above all, about being an outsider: an alien, a misfit, a sexual adventurer, a faraway astronaut. His music was always a mutable blend — rock, cabaret, jazz and what he called “plastic soul” — but it was suffused with genuine soul. Bowie, in turn, influenced many of today’s prominent R&B, soul, pop/rock and hip-hop artists, (remember Queen Latifah’s collab on the “Fame ’90” redux?) many of whom are already honoring him:
Bowie is to be honored with a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 31 featuring the Roots, Cyndi Lauper and the Mountain Goats.
Bowie lost his 18-month battle with cancer on Sunday night, and is survived by his son, director Duncan Jones, wife Iman and their daughter Alexandria.
To read more about Bowie, his life and career, click here. To see him perform live in 1974 on “The Dick Cavett Show” with Luther Vandross on background vocals, check out the video below:
One of the fashion world’s most timeless, elegant supermodels reached her diamond year today, and we’re celebrating her, of course. Iman—a Somali native who was discovered while attending university in Nairobi, Kenya at age 19—paved the way for Black models to be treated equally in the industry from when she touched down in the U.S. in 1975, so there’s no better time to run through her iconic beauty moments.
We’ve noticed that the supermodel appears, well, ageless in photos both on and off the red carpet: Editorials from the ’80s look identical to ones from 2015, which speaks to good skincare, good genes and, of course, Iman’s inner beauty. The star, by the way, has been dishing about turning the big 6-0 this week, opening up to Style.com about what her next steps in life may be.
“I do feel that my next step will be focused specifically on my age group,” she said. “I think there is a blind way that America thinks about youth, and that needs to change. Everything happens out of your own experience. And, let me tell you, a lot is happening to me now. I can never be 20 or 30 [again] and I wouldn’t want to be. I’m almost 60 and I would love to change the way people view 60.”
Iman is just about to celebrate her 60th birthday and the supermodel couldn’t look any more stunning. It only makes us want to rush and buy her entire cosmetics line if it’ll give us the hope of looking this good when we’re her age. Iman is ringing in the big milestone with a cover shoot for Vanity Fair Italia’s latest issue, where she poses in some glamorous styles. Between the super short ‘do, the hair accessories, fierce makeup and the fact that Iman can make anything look amazing, we’re just loving everything about this fashion spread.
The fashion spread was shot by Markus & Koala and the model was thrilled to share her images with her Instagram followers. Iman not only shared the Vanity Fair Italia cover, but also takes from her shoot with the hashtag #ImanAgelessChic. She truly is.
So how does she stay looking so young through the decades? Turns out it’s not rocket science and you won’t find it in a plastic surgeon’s office.
“I go to the gym, I am attentive to the diet. And I’m not complaining of the extra pounds, at least a couple, because they act as a natural botox,” she said. “When women get older, the first place you see it is the face that becomes too thin, worn out, tired. And then they go to get botox, but for me the best remedy is a bit ‘overweight.’”
If you want a glimpse of her cover story and can speak Italian, click here. article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com
It’s been 5 years since Michael Jackson died. Five. There have been constant tributes, celebrations and memorials since that shocking June 25th in 2009, when we collectively learned that one of the most undeniable musical forces ever to walk the Earth was no longer with us. So it’s not like there hasn’t been time to process the reality and finality of his passing – but for me (and I know I’m not alone), as every year passes, Michael’s death hits harder and harder.
I love that his music and legacy live on not only in his family and children, but also in every (and I do mean every) modern entertainer alive today. Usher, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, NeYo, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Beyoncé… who among them doesn’t echo Michael in their movements, their singing, their showmanship? But when I hear the posthumous Jackson album “Xscape” from earlier this year – which, even though critically referred to as “B” level Michael, is better than most pop music currently out there – or a current song that sounds like it could have been a Michael song (see Timberlake’s “Take Back The Night”), the totality of his loss is all the more evident.
There is comfort in the fact that he existed at all and gave us a lifetime filled with thrilling, soul-stirring and oft-emulated art via dance and song. And according to the Orlando Sentinel, today, on what would have been Jackson’s 56th birthday, he is being remembered in different ways around the world.
Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas has launched the #MJWeAreOne campaign in conjunction with MichaelJackson.com.
Fans worldwide are urged to use Instagram by sharing videos — using the hashtag #MJWeAreOne — honoring MJ and sharing ideas of how to make the world a better place.
The MJ Global Party has fans celebrating Jackson’s birthday in live-time around the world using the hashtag #MJGBP2014. Check out the website here.
The fifth annual Michael Jackson Tribute Festival of the Arts is underway in Jackson’s birth home of Gary, Indiana. The three-day festival celebrates Jackson’s life and career while helping revitalize part of Gary.
So on this day, remember the King of Pop in your own way. Listen to your favorite MJ song. Watch your favorite Michael video for the thousandth time.
Below I’m posting one of my all-time favorite Jackson songs and videos, the John Singleton-directed “Remember The Time” and I know I’m going to shake my head (for the thousandth time) when Magic Johnson says “Behold, great Pharoah Ramses!”, laugh (for the thousandth time) when Eddie Murphy’s eyes bug out at Iman crushing on Michael, stare in awe (for the thousandth time) at the dance moves, and lose it (for the thousandth time) when Michael sings the “Rah dah /dah dah dah / What about us, girl?!” part because it is just so uniquely Michael, uniquely musical and uniquely inspiring.
New York Fashion Week is once again underway as runway photos and street style shoots flood the Internet. It has only been a few months since September’s NYFW, when veteran supermodels and magazine bigwigs like Bethann Hardison, Iman, and Andre Leon Talleycalled the industry on the carpet for failing to showcase diversity. And it seems like things have changed, as fashion houses worldwide are seeing the beauty in brown skin.
Models of color like Cindy Bruna,Malaika Firth, and Liya Kebede have infiltrated even the most exclusive fashion houses. But considering that there are literally continents full of people of color, one face per spread might not be enough. Still, it’s a start. Flip through to see which Black beauties are striking a pose in the spring/summer 2014 campaigns. To see more of this article, go to uptownmagazine.com or click here.
Long sequined gowns sparkled and crisp suits cloaked tall, masculine frames as guests arrived to the 43rd annual BRAG Gala in New York City Thursday night. It was a spectacular evening that celebrated diversity in fashion and honored some of the industry’s most distinguished icons. Over 600 guests arrived to the gala hosted by BRAG, a New York-based organization that has been a strong pillar of influence in recruiting and retaining diverse talent in retail and fashion-related companies. The event was held within the spacious walls of New York’s Marriott Marquis, located in the heart of Times Square. Among the night’s honorees were former supermodel Iman, the CEO & Founder of Iman Cosmetics, Skincare and Fragrances, Alain Lafontant, the Vice President of Business Development for Sean John, and Terry Lundgren, president and CEO of Macy’s Inc. To BRAG, each of these individuals have achieved great accolades in their journey to success. Style expert Llyod Boston hosted the event and presented the awards to each of the deserving guests. Lundgren, who has been the head of Macy’s for close to a decade, has actively pursued his mission in creating a work force that is as diverse as the customers who shop at the mega-department store. Because of this, and the success he has earned the multi-million dollar company, he was honored with the BRAG Business Achievement Award. As for Iman, her walk may have landed her in some of the world’s most notable runway shows, but her entrepreneurial spirit and charitable work have made her one of fashion’s most accomplished women. She has also proven herself to be a pioneer in the cosmetic industry after she launched Iman cosmetics to the mass market in 2004, which has since become a $25 million business and helped to make her the ideal candidate to receive the BRAG Legacy Award.
